Walter Scott Smith Jr.

Walter Scott Smith, Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office October 4, 1984
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	New seat created by 98 Stat. 333
Personal details
Born	(1940-10-26) October 26, 1940 Marlin, Texas
Alma mater	Baylor University B.A. Baylor Law School J.D.
Profession	Attorney

Walter Scott Smith, Jr. (born October 26, 1940) is a United States District Judge.

Born in Marlin, Texas, Smith received a Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University in 1964. He received a Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School in 1966. He was in private practice in Waco from 1966 to 1980. He was a judge on the State District Court, Waco, Texas from 1980 to 1983.

Smith was a United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, 1983–1984.

Smith is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Smith was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 11, 1984, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 3, 1984, and received his commission on October 4, 1984. He served as chief judge from 2003–2010.

Suspension from office

On December 3, 2015, the Judicial Council of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit suspended Smith from office for a year, allowing him to clear cases already on his docket. Cases filed in the Waco Division of the Western District will be handled by visiting judges during Smith's suspension. The suspension resulted due to allegations of unwanted sexual advances by Smith towards a female courthouse employee in his chambers in 1998. The Judicial Council indicated that it has started the process that could result in Smith being certified as involuntarily disabled, which could result in the permanent suspension of his judicial duties.

Sources

• Walter Scott Smith Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.